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SUPing on a Superlight (Low Budget Stand Up Paddling)

SuperlightSUP

"I'm on a Low Budget…"

-The Kinks

At some point in the future I'm going to get a stand up paddle board and join the SUP crowd.   But not soon.   In the meantime I've been wondering about the 12-foot board I already own…my beloved, battered Mistral Superlight.  Would it work?  Could I practice SUPing on it?  Not in the waves (I say now, but I'm nuts so maybe later…) but perhaps on windless days on flat water.  Perhaps on Davis Creek (a tidal inlet).  Would it work?

The answer is Yes.  I grabbed a kayak paddle and had the thing cruising in no time.  It glides like a dream (like it does with a sail).  Turning it is not so easy, but maybe I can learn to pivot the thing…more practice is called for.   Shortly after I went out my neighbor Remy grabbed a paddle and got on her Techno, and then Sally did the same, and suddenly there were three of us paddling windsurfers up and down the creek.   It's good fun.  If you have access to a long paddle (I'm using a kayak paddle…see photo) you're fine, but a canoe paddle is too short for most people.

(A kayak paddle and a longboard = SUP on Davis Creek.  Photo by Remy McFadden.)

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17 responses to “SUPing on a Superlight (Low Budget Stand Up Paddling)”

  1. Joe Rouse Avatar
    Joe Rouse

    Hello Mr. Janitor! Welcome to the SUP community.

    Reply
  2. mike burns Avatar
    mike burns

    Great shot! At first I thought you sh*t yourself with laughter having so much fun, but then I realized it was just the daggerboard knob behind you. Here’s to nice clean fun. See you on the water!

    Reply
  3. Mac Avatar
    Mac

    Thats how I started…on an original Windsurfer. It worked great. Now I have a SUP board that works great in flat water and waves. My daughter has started on the original Windsurfer…pretty soon a new SUP board for her too.

    Reply
  4. Mac Avatar
    Mac

    Michael, This could be your shark:
    http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Huge-Shark-Washes-Up-on-LI-Beach.html

    Reply
  5. Switch Avatar
    Switch

    Turning should be easier if you take out the daggerboard. You will loose some stability, but hey, no risk, no fun!

    Reply
  6. the editor Avatar
    the editor

    Mac, the basking shark wasn’t “my” shark. The basking shark showed up a few days later and was photographed swimming at Ponquogue. Had “my” shark been half that size I would have REALLY freaked! Mine was seven feet…eight feet tops.
    Switch: I’m paddling with the centerboard up…are you saying that having it on the board at all affects turning?

    Reply
  7. Jamie Avatar
    Jamie

    I have done the same thing on my ’88 Superlight, but I added a custom EVA pad – you would be much happier with the pad (the Superlight has a famously slippery deck). I also have a Mistral Pacifico. I thought the Superlight would have better glide (but can’t be surfed) – interestingly, it does not. The Pacifico is definitely quicker. For a windsurfer like yourself, I would strongly recommend a board with mast track – had an incredible windsurf session on Monday off FI on the Pacifico (which is really a windsurfer in SUP disguise).

    Reply
  8. the editor Avatar
    the editor

    Jamie, I have the hots for a gorgeous Naish SUP that I’ve seen at Windsurfing Hamptons. It’s got an insert to attach a mast base.

    Reply
  9. Switch Avatar
    Switch

    I’m paddling with the centerboard up
    If up really means in the board, it should not affect turning. If it still sticks out underneath the board, it will affect turning. If it is a pivot board, I guess having it straight down is your second best option.

    Reply
  10. James Avatar
    James

    Cool, man.
    You should make a cheapy SUP paddle by wrapping a pipe or broom handle with duct tape shims and sticking it in one half of your kayak paddle. Then a little more duct tape to seal the joint, and some more to pad the handle. The length from top of the handle to tip of the blade is supposed to be your height + ~10″.
    If you step one foot way back on the board to lift the nose, it will turn pretty quick. 🙂

    Reply
  11. the editor Avatar
    the editor

    Thanks for the turning tip, James! You know, I was looking at the photo this AM, thinking “I’m standing further forward than I thought I was” but it still didn’t occur to me that turning might be easier if I stepped back. I’m a total newbie!
    Re the paddle I’m going to leave it as it is…the wife won’t go for broom sticks and duct tape (if I was single I’d be all over it, though.)

    Reply
  12. Ian Berger Avatar
    Ian Berger

    You can get a pretty cheap adjustable Amundsen SUP paddle for about 90 bucks. Works great. I also SUP the Amundsen board, which is a great all=round board. My Kona longboard also makes a fair flat-water SUP.
    -Ian
    http://www.hudsonwindsurfer.blogspot.com

    Reply
  13. f messina Avatar
    f messina

    Love the low budget SUP!

    Reply
  14. Denny Avatar
    Denny

    Superlites make great SUP. I have one my self. Just so every one knows when SUP first re Started 6 or so years ago I lived in Maui. Laid and Klama who started all this SUP stuff used tandom Long boards for first to years. Guess what it worked great in triple overhead surf. So don’t be tricked by so dork in a shop that you need a speacial boards. Shoots !!!!!

    Reply
  15. Joe Jr. Avatar
    Joe Jr.

    Can you leave on the daggerboard when using the superlight as a sup???? I am wondering on whether to leave it on or remove it when using my mistral for stand up paddling? Will water come on to the board and make it less water stable? Any info would help.

    Reply
  16. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Joe, I haven’t removed my centerboard. Why not leave it on? You’re not going to be stepping there during the normal course of stand up paddling. On the other hand I wouldn’t worry about water coming through the space the centerboard would vacate should you remove it. So a little water comes up? It’s a very floaty board, and SUP is a water sport!
    My .02 leave the centerboard in…don’t think about it. And buy a decent SUP board when you are able to!

    Reply
  17. Joe Jr. Avatar
    Joe Jr.

    Thanks for the feedback guys, I tried to Mistral on flat lake water today without a centerboard and was unable to steer it properly. Attempted to laydown paddle and same thing! Looks like its the most logical thing to leave a fin on for slow cruising.

    Reply

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